Removing the friction from your customer journey — My Quest for the Best with Bill Ringle

Interview Insights

Top Takeaways

Execute a successful strategy by leveraging language patterns to influence people to choose you and feel good about choosing you.
Make it easy for your buyers to do business with you and support them in the process.
Know your worth and use the tools and insights of behavioral economics to be confident in naming your price.

Show Notes

Paul McCartney became a legend even though he couldn’t read sheet music. This surprising fact about the legendary ex-Beatle inspired Melina when she realized that you don’t have to have the skill already present when you want to pursue something. [01:28]
Behavioral economics decodes what makes us buy things. [03:49]
Language is a very powerful determinant of what we buy or if our products get sold or not. [06:04]
Melina discusses the five wording mistakes we need to avoid.[08:08]
Why we should not be afraid to say our price. Melina shared a story of one of her clients who were hesitant to name her price but was both shocked and rewarded that the client wanted her most expensive package. [11:56]
How do you use insights from behavioral economics to make prices attractive to your buyers? [13:57]
What is the hot-cold empathy gap? [17:10]
CASE: Steve asked for help with his company’s messaging. With Melina’s help, they took a complicated company statement into a simple question that is easy to understand and gets the customer thinking they need what is offered.[18:08]
What does the elevator experiment show about nudges, or incorporating a bit of friction into an existing process, and how it can change buying outcomes? [23:58]
What are some examples of reframes that help nudge people into changing behavior? When vs. if, anyone vs. everyone, and question vs. statement. [25:44]
What about understanding the brain’s rules makes it easier for people to choose you? [27:34]
My Quest for the Best lightning round begins. [28:23]

Expert Bio

Melina Palmer is the founder and CEO of The Brainy Business, which provides behavioral economics consulting to businesses of all sizes from around the world. Her podcast, The Brainy Business: Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy, has downloads in over 170 countries and is used as a resource for teaching applied behavioral economics for many universities and businesses. Melina obtained her bachelor’s degree in business administration: and marketing and worked in corporate marketing and brand strategy for over a decade before earning her master’s in behavioral economics.

A proud member of the Global Association of Applied Behavioral Scientists, Melina has contributed research to the Association for Consumer Research, Filene Research Institute, and writes the Behavioral Economics & Business column for Inc Magazine. She teaches applied behavioral economics through the Texas A&M Human Behavior Lab.

Her first book, What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You, was a finalist in two categories of the International Book Awards. Her second book, What Your Employees Need and Can’t Tell You, is focused on changes within your organization.

She teaches applied behavioral economics through the Texas A&M Human Behavior Lab.

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